On Thursday, the Baltimore Orioles made a key trade to acquire left-hander Cole Irvin from the Oakland Athletics to bolster their starting rotation.
Irvin went 9-13 in 30 starts with a 3.98 ERA.
The 28-year-old adds some much-needed depth to an Orioles rotation that needed a veteran arm to go alongside John Means.
And Irvin himself seems pretty excited about joining the young, upstart Orioles.
When asked about the trade, the left-hander said the first thing he thought about was a game between the A’s and Orioles last season and several plays made by rookie Gunnar Henderson.
Irvin stated that there is a lot to be excited about with the 21-year-old rookie.
Cole Irvin, the newest Oriole, says the first thing that he thought of when the trade occurred was a matchup with Baltimore last year, and how amazed he was with the plays Gunnar Henderson made.
“There’s a lot to be excited about moving over,” he said. pic.twitter.com/US7JKsyRJt
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) January 27, 2023
Henderson is one of many reasons that the future appears bright for the Orioles.
Along with Rookie of the Year finalist Adley Rutschman, Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays, Anthony Santander, and Ryan Mountcastle, Henderson helps add to an already outstanding core of players.
Now, having Irvin in the rotation helps give them a veteran presence and a viable starter to go with Means.
The Orioles haven’t been quite as busy this offseason as many had expected, but they did add reliever Mychal Givens, starter Kyle Gibson, and second baseman Adam Frazier.
And there still could be more coming, as several free agent starters have yet to sign.
A hypothetical rotation featuring Means, Irvin, and Michael Wacha at the top would be tough to beat.
They would also have some exciting young players playing behind them while on the mound.
Irvin understands just how dynamic of a player somebody like Henderson could be and is clearly excited to call him his teammate.
